We here at the Duke are a cautious group and try to plan for any contingency. For example, what if we were stranded on a deserted island? What would we need to survive? Here are a few things that are near the top of our list. OK, OK. Ignore the obvious cellaring problems and work with us here.

---

Grace Family 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon, Blank Vineyard
The Grace Family wines are always in short supply and high demand. This offering from Al and Chotzie Blank's property is just as rare. The Blank Vineyard wine is tightly holding onto a rich tapestry of flavors and texture. It is just starting to reveal itself, with hints of spice, dense black fruit and coffee notes at the fore. Here is a wine with serious aging potential and a promise of magnificent things to come.
Duke's rating - 96 points - Duke's price - $139.99 per bottle

---

Continuum 2005 Proprietary Red Wine
Here is the fabulous first wine from the brand-new partnership of Robert, Marcia and Tim Mondavi - a delicious blend of two-thirds Cabernet Sauvignon and equal parts of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot sourced from vineyards the family has farmed for four generations. We flipped over this dense, beautifully harmonious wine when Tim's son, Carlo, brought it by recently. It is highly allocated and we are thrilled to be offering it to you. Robert Parker really likes it, too: ". . . exhibits a dense ruby/purple color followed by a beautiful nose of lead pencil shavings intermixed with creme de cassis, subtle wood smoke, and hints of bay leaves as well as spring flowers. Full-bodied with lovely purity, nicely integrated wood, tannin, acidity, and alcohol, and a long finish reminiscent of a classic Bordeaux Pauillac, while accessible, it should age effortlessly for 15 or more years."
RP 95 - Duke's price $135.00 per 750ml bottle. Magnums are available, please call for pricing.

---

Araujo Estate 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon, Altagracia
From the younger vines in the famed Eisele Vineyard comes this incredible Cabernet Sauvignon-based blend. Parker thinks highly of this wine: " . . . the wine has an almost French personality with its elegant, pure cedary and black currant fruit intermixed with hints of chocolate, oak, and earth. The tannins are supple, and the wine medium to full-bodied, very enjoyable already, yet capable of lasting 12-15 years." Think of it as the younger sibling of the premier cru Araujo Cabernet Sauvignon.
RP 92 - Duke's price - $99.99 per bottle

---

Colgin 2005 Syrah, IX Estate
Everything at Colgin is done with an eye toward perfection. This wine comes close in Parker's mind: " . . . a dense purple-hued wine of polished elegance and finesse, subtle but intense aromatics offering up notes of earth, lard, meat, spring flowers as well as black and blue fruits. It is buttressed by good acidity, and fine, yet sweet tannins. This medium to full-bodied wine should evolve effortlessly for a decade or more. There are less than 400 cases."
RP 95 - Duke's price $299.99 per bottle

---

Colgin Red Wine, IX Estate
This is another of Robert Parker's favorites from one of Napa Valley's leading wineries: "My favorite of the 2005 Colgins is the 2005 IX Proprietary Red Estate, a blend of 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. The good news is that there are 1,500 cases of this blockbuster wine, which has a Bordeaux framework but the exuberance and richness as well as fruit purity of a great Napa wine. Deep purple in color with an extraordinary nose of scorched earth, blueberries, and black currants intermixed with some subtle charcoal notes, spice, box and spring flowers, it is very full-bodied, but beautifully structured and well-delineated. With good acidity despite what is an extremely high pH (3.9), the total acids are reasonable. This is a beauty of harmony, power, and great intensity, but it is light on its feet, and an exceptional example of what this high-elevation hillside estate vineyard is capable of producing. This wine should hit its prime in 5-6 years and last for three or more decades."
RP 97 - Duke 's price - $499.99 each

---

Mollydooker 2006 Shiraz, Blue-eyed Boy
Mollydooker is Aussie slang for a left-handed person. The winery is aptly named, since both winemakers, Sarah and Sparky Marquis, are left-handed. But the wine is absolutely right! Witness Parker's comment: "Purple-colored, it has an intense aromatic display of smoke, violets, mulberry, blueberry, and chocolate. This leads to a full-bodied, plush, wine with layers of ripe, spicy black fruits, excellent focus and delineation. The tannins are well-concealed but this wine has enough stuffing to evolve for 6-8 years. Drink it through 2025."
RP 96 - Duke's price - $59.99 per bottle
Be sure to ask us how to do the Mollydooker shake!

---

Mollydooker 2006 Enchanted Path
Parker's quote: "The 2006 Shiraz (66%) =E2=80=93 Cabernet Sauvignon (34%) "Enchanted Path" was made entirely from McLaren Vale fruit. Opaque purple-colored, the wine has a fragrant bouquet of pain grille, leather, smoked meat, game, blueberry, and blackberry. This is followed by a structured wine with intense, spicy black fruit flavors, full-body, and superb balance. It is still tightly wound and will benefit from 6-8 years of cellaring. This promising effort should drink well through 2030."
RP 94 - Duke's price - $89.99 per bottle
Be sure to ask us how to do the Mollydooker shake!

---

Justin 2005 ISOSCELES
ISOSCELES has long been one of the top red wines on the planet. The 1994 vintage won the prestigious Chateau Pichon-Lalande Award for the best Bordeaux-style wine in the world. A few years later, the 1997 ISOSCELES scored a 95 by the Wine Spectator and was ranked 5th on their "Top 100 Wines of the Year" listing. The 2005 vintage certainly lives up to its world-class image.

It is a dark purple wine with a slight crimson overtone around the rim. Aromas of boysenberry, leather, mocha, mint and cassis combine with light layers of caramel and vanilla resulting from the extended oak aging. A soft, fruit-forward, elegant entry segues into a mid-palate with length and complexity. Seamless, integrated tannins marry with ripe fruit and flavors of coffee, butterscotch and a hint of pencil lead on the finish. It will continue to evolve through 2025.
Duke score - 97 points - Duke's price - $59.99 each

---

Orin Swift 2005 Papillon
Packaged in a beautiful, heavy-weight bottle befitting of its content's quality, Papillon is in the league of wines in the price range substantially north of $100.00 per bottle. The label honors the hands of one who toils in the vineyard, where wonderful wine begins. This is the Swift's first release of a Bordeaux-style wine. What a magnificent beginning! It is every bit as big and luscious as its Zinfandel-based sibling, with a huge nose of blackberry and cedar and a palate to match. Its tannins have already softened and the wine is spectacular poured right from the bottle, but a brief decanting will open the aromas and flavors even more. It is well-balanced and powerful.
Duke's rating - 95 points - Duke - $55.00 per bottle

---

Black Bart 2005 Syrah, Stagecoach Vineyard (Produced by Krupp Brothers)
Stagecoach Vineyard and Krupp Brothers Estate wines are becoming a major factor in the Napa Valley wine world. Not only do they furnish grapes for some of the most prestigious wineries in Napa, their own wines are being recognized as top-tier. For example, Parker noted: "Readers looking for a California red that is a dead-ringer for a French Cote Rotie should check out Black Bart's 2005 Syrah Stagecoach Vineyard. It boasts a dense ruby/purple color as well as an unmistakable nose of graphite, bacon fat, cassis, cherries, licorice, pepper, and tapenade. The remarkably complex aromatics are followed by a medium to full-bodied wine with good acidity, purity, and impeccable winemaking. Drink it over the next 8-10 years."
RP 94 - Duke's price - $50.00 per bottle or buy a 6-pack and save 10% - $270.00

Call the Duke today!!

P.S. Brace yourself for our next email featuring the wines we would take to a desserted island. Most all of them would be of the sweet variety!!